Sony was one of the first OEMs to focus on designing water-resistant phones, but they weren't always resistant enough. Consumers were brushed off by Sony when their water-resistant phones and tablets showed evidence of water damage. Now, there's a class action lawsuit wrapping up that could result in affected Sony owners getting a 50% refund on their devices.

Sony is making it easier to get AOSP ROMs up and running on its flagship devices with a few goodies for developers. After showing off stock Android 5.0 running on the Xperia Z3 recently, the company has posted source code and binaries for the Xperia Z3, Xperia Z3 Compact, Xperia Z2, Xperia Z1 and Xperia Z1 Compact.

Sony's relationship with "pure" Android is an interesting one. As a company they generally make it easy to root or otherwise modify their phones or tablets, with a few notable qualifiers. The AOSP for Xperia project, which provides the basic tools for building standard Android ROMs on popular devices, is also one way that Sony stays relevant for those who buy phones with the intent to add aftermarket software. Today it gets two new flagship options, the older Xperia Z1 and Z2.

You can find the binaries for both new phones on the SonyXperiaDev GitHub. They're classified by codename: "Honami" is the Xperia Z1 while "Sirius" is the Z2.

When Sony debuted the Live on YouTube app last month, we wondered if compatibility would extend backwards to some other high-end Sony phones. The time is now, Sony smartphone owners... at least if you own one of three very specific models. Last year's flagship the Xperia Z1, its slightly smaller brother the Xperia Z1 Compact, and the high-powered Xperia ZL2 (which is only available in some Asian markets at the moment), all have access to the app as of now.

Wait, where exactly is the phone in this situation? Up a tree?

The Live On YouTube app is, so far, the only straightforward way to stream from Android directly to a live stream on YouTube.

Outside of Google, it looks like Sony is the first company to start pushing 4.4.4 to its devices, beginning with the Z1, Z1 Compact, and Z Ultra. While it's only a very minor update, it still says something about Sony's drive to push timely updates that it's the first to get 4.4.4 out the door to consumer devices.

Included in this software

There are many improvements in this upgrade for your Xperia™ smartphone, some examples are:

Android 4.4.4 including the latest enhancements and security updates from Google

Updated and improved camera experience

Improvements when using Google voice, Contacts, Music streaming and Google+

The latest versions of our Sony apps for you to enjoy

All of our latest bug fixes, optimisations & improvements

The update is currently only rolling out in Europe, but it will likely follow in other regions fairly soon.

Sony has been doing an admirable job keeping its Android hardware on the latest releases, and today they're bringing KitKat to three of the newest phones in their lineup. The flagship Xperia Z1, the slightly smaller Xperia Z1 Compact, and the super-sized Xperia Z Ultra all get an Android 4.4 upgrade starting now, according to this Sony Mobile blog post.

We haven't actually seen any updated devices from tipsters, and Sony makes the usual disclaimer that the rollout may vary by location and carrier. (Owners of the T-Mobile branded Xperia Z1s, this means you're going to be waiting for a while longer.) Once users do get the software update, they'll also be treated to a tweaked interface (which takes cues from the PS4, apparently), updated Sony apps, and a few extras, including heavily updated Sony media integration.

Fitbit's Android app is useless without a matching fitness device to pair it with, but buying one without having a phone that supports it means having to rely on your computer for synching. That's less than desirable, so it's a good thing that the company is steadily working to expand the number of Android phones its products will support. Following the latest update to the Fitbit app, Moto G owners can now sync their handset up to a Fitbit accessory. They are joined by anyone who owns an Xperia Z, Z1, Z1S, ZL, ZR, Z Ultra, or Tablet Z.

The update also tackles a few crash reports and brings in some bug fixes aimed at Korean users.